Henry Glover Place

IMG_0346General Information

The Henry Glover Place, located at 348 Malvern Avenue, is a parklet that features musical sculptures, the "Black Broadway" mural, landscaping and seating.

History

Hot Springs native, Henry B. Glover, also known as Henry Bernard, (May 21,1921 - April 7, 1991), a graduate of Langston High, attended Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College on a music scholarship where he received his bachelor's degree 1943. Glover went on to Wayne State University, where he later, in early ‘44, dropped out to join the Buddy Johnson big band as a trumpeter. In ‘45, he worked with the Tiny Bradshaw and Lucky Millinders bands. It was through working for Millinder’s band as an arranger and musician, Glover met Syd Nathan, founder of King Records. Nathan was so impressed by Glover’s understanding of the music industry, he hired him in ‘47 for the King Records’ subsidiary Queen Records Artists and Repertoire division (A & R) as the director to search for talent and oversee the artistic development of recording artists and songwriters.

Henry GloverA large part of his musical legacy was working for King Records, based out of Cincinnati. He even headed up a King Records' office in New York in the ‘50's. During this time, he was one of the most influential recording executives (one of the first truly successful Black executives in the music business) of the time; he supervised blues, rhythm-and-blues and country recordings and even cross-fertilizing rhythm-and-blues and country repertories.

Of the genre-mixing that occurred organically at King Records, Glover said:

 “We were the first to do that…King worked with white country singers as well as black R & B artists, it seemed a natural thing to cross boundaries. We weren’t afraid of intermarriages” (King Studios Mobile Exhibits Collections). [theclio.com/entry/102323]

He was a man of many skills; at various times, he was a producer, talent scout, A&R representative, physically helped build King’s first recording studio, songwriter, engineer, trumpeter and even label owner. Through his long career and his major role in the King Records, he helped form King Records into one of the biggest and best independent labels of its time.

In ‘59, he moved to Roulette Records’ subsidiary Gee Records, where he was the head for A & R. In the early ‘60’s, Glover and Joey Dee wrote a huge hit called “Peppermint Twist.” During the early ‘60’s, he also set up his own label, Glover Records, for a brief time, which produced a handful of hits.

Glover returned to King Records in ‘63, where he soon served as the head of the label after Nathan’s death in ’68. A few months later, King Records was eventually taken over by Hal Neely’s Starday Records, which was restarted as Starday-King Records. In ’75, the Band drummer Levon Helm and Glover co-founded the label, RCO Productions. 

Glover died of a heart attack at 69 years old in St. Albans, Queens, New York.

Throughout his career, Glover produced for…

  • Aretha Franklin
  • Bull Moose Jackson
  • Champion Jack Dupree
  • The Delmore Brothers
  • Dinah Washington
  • Cowboy Copas
  • Ella Fitzgerald
  • Freddie King
  • Grandpa Jones
  • The Hawks (later known as the Band)
  • Hawkshaw Hawkins
  • James Brown
  • John Lee Hooker
  • Little Willie John, which includes his biggest hit, “Fever” in ‘56
  • Lonnie Johnson
  • The Merseybeats
  • Moon Mullican
  • Muddy Waters, whose album, The Woodstock Album, received a Grammy
  • Paul Butterfield
  • The Ramones
  • Rosemary Clooney
  • Roy Brown
  • Sam and Dave
  • Sarah Vaughan
  • Sonny Stitt
  • Wynonie Harris
  • The York Brothers
  • The Zombies

His accomplishments:

Through his work with the Delmore Brothers, he could be known as the first Black producer in country music history.

Thirty-nine of Glover’s written/produced songs appeared on the Billboard R & B chart.

Some of his songs include:

  • “Drown in My Own Tears" which was originally recorded by Sonny Thompson and Lula Reed in ’52 and re-recorded by Ray Charles in ’56
  • “The Breadline” which was recorded by Paul Butterfield in ‘76
  • “Day to Day” which was recorded by Paul Butterfield in ‘76
  • “Watch ‘Em Tell a Lie” which was recorded by Paul Butterfield in ‘76
  • “California Sun” which was recorded by Joe Jones in ’60 and made a hit by The Rivieras in ‘64
  • “Cherry Wine” which was recorded by Little Esther in ‘53

Some of his co-wrote songs include:

  • "Annie Had a Baby," with Lois Mann and recorded by The Midnighters ‘54
  • “Blues Stay Away from Me” with the Delmore Brothers and Wayne Raney which was recorded by The Delmore Brothers ‘49
  • “I Love You, Yes I Do” with Sally Nix which was recorded by Bull Moose Jackson in ‘47
  • “I’ll Sail My Ship Alone” with Moon Mullican, Lois Mann and Henry Thurston in ‘50
  • “Let the Little Girl Dance” with Carl Spencer which was recorded by Billy Bland ‘60
  • "Peppermint Twist" with Joey Dee and recorded by Joey Dee and The Starliters in ‘61
  • “Seven Nights to Rock” with Buck Trail, Louis Innis and recorded by Moon Mullican in ‘56
  • “You can Run but You Can’t Hide” with Paul Butterfield and recorded by Freddie King ‘75

In 1986, he was honored by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which placed him on its Honor Roll of A & R Producers.

In 2013, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

In 2018, Glover was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the King Records 75th Anniversary.

In 2021, he was inducted into the Arkansas Walk of Fame.


To see the park dedication, visit https://flic.kr/s/aHsmVJ6Cyi

To see the park dedication video, visit https://youtu.be/OayxgrDUfYM

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